A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels — Volume 01 eBook

I then asked Coiac to return our clothes and books.
“What,” said he, “did you not bring
them to Sartach?” I said that I had certainly
brought them to Sartach, but had not given them, and
put him in mind of what I had said on that former
occasion. To this he answered “You say truth,
and none can resist the truth. I left your goods
with my father, who dwells in Saray, a new town, which
Baatu has built on the eastern shore of the Volga,
but our priests have some of your vestments.”
“If any thing please you,” said I, “keep
it, so that you restore my books.” I requested
letters from him to his father to restore my things;
but he was in haste to be gone, and said that we should
alight at the train of the ladies, which was near at
hand, and he should send me Sartachs answer.
Though I was fearful he might deceive me, yet I dared
not to contend with him. Late in the evening his
messenger came with two coats, seemingly all of silk,
saying that Sartach had sent me these, one for myself,
and that I might present the other to my king on his
behalf. I answered, that I wore no such garments,
but should present both to my king, in honour of his
lord; and I now send both by the bearer of these letters.
He delivered me also a letter for the father of Coiac,
to restore all that belonged to me.

We returned to the court of Baatu on the same day
on which I had departed thence the year before, being
the second day after the invention of the Holy Cross,
16th September 1254; and I found our young men in health,
though much afflicted with poverty. Gosset told
me, they had perished for want, if the king of Armenia
had not comforted them, and recommended them to Sartach,
for the Tartars believed I was dead, and even asked
them if they could keep oxen and milk mares; for if
I had not returned, they had certainly been reduced
to servitude. After this Baatu called me before
him, and made the letters which Mangu-khan sends you
to be interpreted to me. He likewise demanded
what way I would go, whether by sea or land? I
said the sea would be frozen, as whiter was approaching,
and I must, therefore, go by land; and believing your
majesty was still in Syria, I directed my journey
to Persia, for if I had known you were in France, I
would have gone through Hungary. We had to travel
a month with Baatu before we could obtain a guide.
At length they appointed a Jugur, who understanding
I would give him nothing, and that I wished to go
by Armenia, caused our letters to be made for conducting
me to the soldan of Turkey, hoping he might there
receive gifts. We left the moving court of Baatu
fifteen days before All Saints, 16th October, and
went direct southwards for Sarai, always keeping near
the Volga, and there the Volga divides into three branches
or arms, each almost twice as large as the branch
of the Nile at Damieta. Besides these, it divides
into four lesser arms, so that we had to pass seven
branches of the river in boats: Upon the middle
branch, is a village called Sumerkant[2], without